Find a tridacnain Phuket, Thailand

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#17of 114 things to doin Phuket

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Tridacna is a giant clam that produces pearls, and will impress the most experienced adventurers with its outstanding size.

Phuket is the place to watch tridacna in its natural habitat — these giant bivalve mollusks that can reach 200 kilograms and the clam length of 1.5 meters produce the largest pearls. For instance, the largest pearl ever found, the Pearl of Allah, which is 6,4 kg, was found in a tridacna.

There is a beautifully sad story of a Philippine chief’s son, who dived in search of corals and beautiful shells, and didn’t return to the surface once. He was later discovered with his hand captured in the tridacna’s powerful clam. His hand was holding the Pearl of Allah. This is why tridacna is also named «a deathtrap».

You shouldn’t really be afraid of these old folk’s tales, though — scientists have proved that mollusk muscles are weak and could hardly capture a human finger, let alone hand.